Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Amr Waked,
Min-sik Choi
Direction: Luc Besson
Genre: Sci-Fi
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Story: One wrong decision lands Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) in trouble and changes her life forever.

Review: Lucy is deceived by her shady boyfriend, who coerces her into undertaking a delivery job. Little does she know that she has been used as a drug mule instead! However, the victim in her becomes lethal when she is accidentally exposed to an overdose of the very experimental drugs she is about to transfer.

Lucy’s premise is built on the widely popular myth that we ‘human beings only make use of 10% of our brain’. What will happen if a drug (here, CPH4) alters that calculation drastically, thus enabling us to use the full 100%? Lucy undergoes this. Her brain power keeps increasing, making her seem like a highly volatile, walking, talking time bomb about to explode.

What will happen to Lucy after the drug unlocks her mind’s full potential? While the concept is highly intriguing and thoughtprovoking, you cannot stretch an idea way beyond its limits. Lucy’s dilemma is mysterious and gripping but as the film oscillates between sci-fi, action and philosophy, you somewhere find it all too pseudocerebral and convoluted.

The combination of multiple genres makes the film look like a bizarre mix of The Tree of Life and La Femme Nikita! Morgan Freeman stands out in his small but significant role. Scarlett Johansson is convincing but after a while, the film gets too far-fetched and her character loses its sheen. While we are keen on counting her rising brain potential, changing psyche and the unexpected repercussions, the overindulgent French filmmaker seems more desperate to focus on his femme fatale’s implausible superpowers (telekinesis and mind-reading) instead.

Lucy may fail to woo the mainstream audience as it doesn’t boast an extravagant budget or thrilling special effects. You don’t feel for the protagonist either as she loses everything that makes her human, including pain and fear of death. However, if you are a fan of ‘experimental’ cinema, you will appreciate this unconventional attempt.